Spring mounting



C. C. HUDSON.

SPRING MOUNTING- APPLICATION FILED MAY 14. 1921.

Patented June 6, 1922.

INVENTOR JfiarZes Gl nis-0n ATTORNEY UNITED STATES ATENT QFFICE.

CHARLES C. HUDSON, 0F ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

SPRING- KVKOUNTIN G.

Application filed May 14:,

To all whom it may covwe rn:

Be it known that l, CHAnLns C. l'lUDSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Spring Mountings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle springs and has for its main objectthe provision of means for anchoring the springs to the axles of thevehicles to receive the shock and rebound which occurs when the vehicleis passing over uneven surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchoring meansinsuring substantially equally distribution of the shock and rebound ofthe springs which are preferably of the leaf type.

i like reference characters denote correspondspacing member forming partof the anchoring means for the springs.

In the drawings the automobile, shown conventionally in Figure 1,includes the usual body 10, frame 11, front and rear axles 12 and 13respectively and wheels l-l. Referring more particularly to Figures 2and 3, the frame 11 carries a. bracket 15 having a bifurcated lower end,the upper end of which is rigidly secured to the frame at 16 by bolts orother suitable fastening means. The upper ends of a pair of shackles 17are pivotally connected to a pin 18 ex- Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented June 6, 1922 1921. Serial in. 469,671.

tending from an L-shaped plate 19 which is secured to the frame.

A spring 20 constructed of a plurality of leaves 21, is shown as havingan upper portion 22 and a lower portion 23, the said portion being bowedand connected to form springs of the types referred to as will presentlyappear, One of the leaves 21 of the portions and 23 is bent acent oneend to form bearings 24: which are adapted to receive bolts 25 extendingthrough openings in the lower end of the shackles 17 and having threadedengagement with nuts 26, the bolts forming a pivotal connection betweenportions of the spring 20 and the lower end of the shackle 17.

The opposite ends of the same leaf in each of the portions and 23 arealso bent to form elongated slotted bearings 27, adapted to receivebolts 28 which extend through openings in the lower end of the bracket15 and having threaded engagement with nuts 29, the bolts 28 forming apivotal connection between the bracket 15 and the spring 20 and theslotted bearings 27 permitting expansion and contraction of the springportions 22 and 23.

The anchoring means comprises a rectangularly shaped plate, which issomewhat wider than the leaves 21 of the spring, the inner face of whichis slightly curved to form a close lit with a top surface of the upperspring portion 22. A plate 30 is positioned centrally with respect tothe length of the spring 20, and in substantially vertical alignmentwith a cylindrical spacing member 31 interposed between the portions ofthe spring 20. The spacing member 31 is disposed in direct verticalalignment above the axle 18, the axle being journaled in a bearing block3 1 and provided with an outwardly extending flange 35. The spring 20rests on the bearing block 84: and is rigidly anchored to the axle 18 bybolts 36. As shown in Figure 5, a pair of substantially rectangularshaped plates 32 having curved faces engaging the inner sides of theupper and lower portions of the spring are formed integrally with theopposite ends of the spacing member 31 and are provided with openings 33for the purpose of receiving the bolts 36. In the assembling shown inFigures 2 and l the bolts 36 pass through openings adjacent the edges.of the plate 30 in vertical alignment with the openings 33 in theplates 32 and extend through aligned openings in the bearing block 32Lto receive a. nut 37 having threaded engagement with the lower ends ofthe bolts. The upper ends of the bolts extend above the top surface ofthe plate 30 and have threaded engagement with nuts 38, the bolts andnuts thus serving to clamp the spring 20 to the spacing member 31 andcentrally anchor the springs to the axle.

The assembly shown in Figure 3 is practically the same as abovedescribed except that the spring 20 is of the three-quarter elliptictype formed by cutting the upper portion 22 in half. The front axle 12is I-shaped in cross section the flanges 39 of which are extended toform a rest for the spring. In either case upon occurrence of shock bythe vehicle passing over uneven surfaces, the spring 20 will have arocking pivotal motion at the shackle end and a pivotal motion at thebracket end. The force of the shock and rebound will be distributedequally to the leaves 21 and both sides of the spacing member 31, andthe expansion and contraction of the portions or the spring will beaccommodated by the slots in the ends of the portions adjacent thebrackets. The spacing member 31 prevent any up and down motion of theportions of the spring, thus insuring that the force of the shock andrebound will be absorbed at the ends of the spring instead of centrallythereof, overcoming an objectionable feature of present springequipment. It is obvious that the shock and rebound can be accommodatedwith a minimum motion between the spring and the vehicle, which is oneof the advantages of the anchoring means disclosed herewith, and thatthe spacing member may be a block which is either solid or tubular incross section.

It is obvious that various changes in construction of the invention maybe made without departing from the scope of the following claims, and itis to be understood that the present disclosure is by way ofillustration only and is not to be taken as constrictive of myconception.

.Vhat I claim is Tn combination with a vehicle spring having rocking andpivotal connection between a frame and an axle, of a pair of platesengaging the inner surfaces of the upper and lower portions of saidspring, a cylindrical spacing member formed integrally with said platesand means coacting with the spring and plates for firmly anchoring thespring centrally to said axle.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

CHARLES C. HUDSON.

